


Unexpected Miracles

by Siren_Seashell



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-12-07 18:54:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11629770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siren_Seashell/pseuds/Siren_Seashell
Summary: Brienne starts to understand the enigma that is Tormund Giantsbane, and seeks to find solace with him in what may be the last moments of both of their lives.





	Unexpected Miracles

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this story after watching Episode 1 of Season 7 of Game of Thrones. After watching Episode 2, it seems unlikely Brienne would leave Sansa to join Tormund at Eastwatch by the Sea, but suspend your disbelief, if you will, and enjoy. :)

Brienne, resigned, slumped toward her room in the castle. The White Walkers were headed toward Eastwach by the Sea, where Lady Sansa had ordered her to accompany Tormund. It wouldn’t be long now before the fight broke out and they were all dead. She heard Tormund shouting orders at the other wildlings, she saw his flaming red beard float askew in the wind, but she was so tired from standing watch overnight that his bellowing voice whirred past her, words unintelligible as she trudged along.

 

“Wench. WENCH!” Brienne looked around, her stupor broken. Jaime had often called her “Wench”, and now Brienne doubted she would ever see him again. She realized that it was not Jaime who called her, but Tormund.

 

She watched the wildling leader run toward her, his eyes wide.

 

“What?” She asked him with a sigh as he skidded to a stop in front of her, his boots spraying mud as he stopped.

 

“Where are you going?” Tormund asked her.

 

“Bed.” She said without explanation, turning from him and starting once again to move toward the castle once occupied by members of the Night’s Watch.

 

She felt his hand clasp her shoulder as soon as her back faced him. She slowly turned around to look at him.

 

“You shouldn’t go up to your chambers by yourself.” He said.

 

Brienne’s face turned scarlet at his implication. “Excuse me, ser, but I am NOT EVER allowing you into my bedchamber, no matter how many suggestive comments you make and even though we will probably both be dead soon!” Brienne said with disgust.

 

“No, no, no, no, whoa there, my dear. I meant no offense. I jus’ meant with the wights and the white walkers so near, it’s probably best for you to get your boy Pod or someone to accompany you. A tall beauty such as yourself is as vulnerable to attack as a lone deer in an open field. You shouldn’a be alone, is all I be sayin’” Tormund said gruffly, but with the ever-present twinkle still in his eyes.

 

“Pod is still in bed. I don’t wish to wake him when I can walk back faster than it would take him to wake up and get his arse out here.” Brienne snapped, groaning inwardly. Tormund would not let her go to her rooms by herself, and so Brienne came to the conclusion that the quickest way for her to get to bed would be to have Tormund accompany her on her walk. Brienne suspected this may have been his aim all along.

 

“Fine,” Brienne conceded, “would you be so kind as to be the one to escort me back to the castle, or get one of your men to do it?”

 

“I’d be happy to do it m’self, m’lady!” Tormund answered cheerily.  _ Of course you would,  _ Brienne thought. She had hoped by suggesting one of his men escort her she may yet escape his company, but alas…

 

Tormund called to a man Brienne did not know. The man was rather tall and he had an impressive brown beard hiding the lower half of his face. She gathered that Tormund was leaving the man in charge in his absence. The man nodded, and Tormund turned back toward Brienne.

 

“M’lady.” He said with a sweeping bow, gesturing for her to continue onward.

 

For a moment, they did not speak, but for what might have been the first time, Brienne was the one to break the silence: 

 

“Are you afraid?” she asked.

 

Tormund stopped at that, and looked Brienne square in the eye. This caused Brienne to pause as well.

 

“I have seen nothing that has shaken me to the core more than the dead come to life, m’lady” He said. “Aye, I’m afraid. I’d call the man a coward who say he weren’t afraid, because he’d be lying straight to my face.”

 

Brienne’s face fell. She had hoped that Tormund, always boisterous, always telling far-fetched stories, could give her some confidence that they might survive the night to come, but it seemed that even he could not deny their fate.

 

Tormund must have seen the look of sorrow pass across her features, for he said, “Don’t you worry about it one bit, m’lady. If I have anything to say about it, you will come out of this alive and as fierce as the winter wind.”

 

“I don’t need any man to fight for me. I can fight my own battles.” Brienne said.

 

“Aye, you can, I have no doubt about that.” Tormund agreed. “But if it gets to the point where ya need help, I hope you know you can count on me.”

 

Brienne turned around to see a look of sincerity on Tormund’s face that she had never before witnessed. Despite herself, she was touched by his words.

 

“Thank you.” She whispered before trudging onward silently through the snow. Finally, they reached the castle and Brienne thought that Tormund would leave her. However, true to his word, he seemed to have no intention of leaving her until she reached the safety of her chamber. As they reached her chamber door, she turned around to face him once more.

 

“Thank you again”. She said, putting a hand on the doorknob. Suddenly Tormund placed his giant hand over hers. Brienne looked up at him, both slightly terrified and confused.

 

“I may not be a handsome knight like your golden Lannister,  but I do care about ye. I think y’re magnificent, and not just ‘cause you can fight like ten men and are more beautiful and braver than any woman I care to know.

 

Brienne found herself unable to speak, her thoughts raced.  _ How did he know her feelings for Jaime? Was it that obvious? He,  _ Tormund _ , cared about her … but … _

 

“Why?” She asked suddenly, staring hard determinately into his eyes, searching for an explanation.

 

“Why what?” Tormund responded in confusion.

 

“Why care about me? Why I am I worth caring for?”

 

“I just told ye!” Tormund said with exasperation, “Y’re lovely.”

 

Brienne wanted to spit out a retort, dismiss his words as untrue, like all the other lies she had heard before from men merely wanting to get into her pants. But Brienne knew sincerity when she saw it, heard it, and Tormund was actually being sincere!

 

“You really think so, don’t you?” She mumbled.

 

“And you don’t?” He asked.

 

“Think I’m lovely? No … no one has ever said I was before.” She admitted.

 

“Well no one has to tell ye for it to be so,” Tormund muttered, “but damn it it’s about time you believed it!”

 

And with that Tormund cupped her cheek with his free hand and kissed her, moving his other hand to the small of her back and pulling her into him.

 

Brienne didn’t know how to react, and for a moment, she didn’t. She stood still in disbelief, registering the feel of his lips on hers, his prickly beard scratching her chin. It didn’t feel unpleasant, like she thought it might. In fact, it felt warm, comfortable, inviting. Brienne tried desperately to organize her thoughts and regain control of the situation, but she became lost as his lips grazed her jaw.

 

Then suddenly, Tormund pulled away, leaving Brienne feeling the sting of rejection she had become so familiar with.

 

“There.” Tormund said, as if that were the end of it. He turned on his heel and started to walk away from her.

 

“Wait! Tormund!” Brienne cried, not quite sure that she knew what she was doing, but knowing that she did not want him to leave her. Not now.

 

Tormund turned around, and though he admittedly looked a little shocked, a cocky grin started to appear on his face.

 

“Oh, do wipe that smile off of your face, Giantsbane!” Brienne said in slight annoyance, before she bridged the gap between them and kissed him full on the mouth. 

 

Brienne pulled him toward her and placed one hand behind his head, his red curls soft beneath her fingers. She kissed him eagerly, wanting to him to understand that she needed him in this moment. Wanting him to understand that she didn’t hate him.

 

Tormund groaned and backed her up against the stone wall behind her. His hand roamed down and landed on her hips, and then around to her backside. Brienne yelped in surprise as he squeezed her bottom, but found she rather enjoyed his hands being here . His mouth also started to work its way downward as he placed surprisingly gentle kisses down her neck.

 

“Um…” Brienne panted, barely able to think, let alone form coherent words, “um...shall we...uhhh…”

 

“Move this inside?” Tormund asked, cocking an eyebrow. Brienne admired his composure in this moment, as she was becoming fully undone.

 

“YES!” She half yelped, half cried in delight as his warm breath tickled her ear, giving her the oddest, and yet pleasurable, feeling.

 

“I thought you’d never ask.” Tormund whispered, and before Brienne could say anything else he swept her off of her feet, cradled her in his arms, and carried her through her chamber door.

 

“Put...me...down!” Brienne demanded as she squirmed in his arms.

 

Tormund only smiled wickedly before obliging and placing her down upon her bed.

 

For a moment, neither of them moved, no said a word. They both stared at one another, as though daring the other to make the first move. 

 

Finally, Tormund said, a bit sheepishly, “I may be a Wildling, m’lady, but I would never force a woman to do anything she did not want to do.” His face was red, and he looked self-conscious mussed the back of his hair absent-mindedly, waiting for her to say something.

 

“But what about Wildlings stealing their wives?” Brienne asked.

 

“Ah, well, that was how they did it long before I was born. We don’t do that now, it’s just the stuff of stories. But even if a wife was stolen, she weren’t forced to love her husband. Sometimes love grew eventually, sometimes it didn’t. Usually when it didn’t grow, she’d find another man, or woman, she liked better and run off with them. We’re free folk, m’lady, we have to let our women and men be free to make their own decisions.

 

“Well, that’s...refreshing.” Brienne said quietly, ruminating on his words.

 

“Aye.” He responded, apprehensively, looking a bit nervous. Brienne had to admit, a nervous Tormund was pretty adorable. His face was almost as red as his hair, and his eyes looked like a dog’s afraid of displeasing its master.

 

Brienne kicked her legs off the bed. She did not say anything, but slowly removed her boots. As soon as her feet were free, she stood up, and placed her hands under his fur cloak, slipping it off of his shoulders.

 

Tormund looked taken aback at her boldness as she proceeded to free him of the three layers of shirts underneath, but soon that wicked grin lit up his features once more.

 

“Now, now, m’lady. Take yer time.” He said, looking upon her with pride.

 

He bucked his hips a bit so that Brienne suddenly felt the hardness underneath his breeches.

 

“Oh…” She whispered, realizing what she was doing to him. Never had she experienced anything close to this before. Now she started to lose her resolve. She had seen naked men plenty of times. She had seen Jaime naked in the baths at Harrenhal, but never had she thought she would undress a man, strip him down to his bare flesh in order to make love to him. And he would want her to be naked, too! Brienne flushed in slight embarrassment.

 

“Tormund,” she said, stopping her undressing of him, “I’m afraid I’ve never … uh … made love to a man before. I know this sounds terribly stupid of me to bring up right now, especially as we’re probably going to die soon and you probably would just rather me get on with it, but…”

 

Before she could finish her nervous rambling, Tormund’s mouth covered hers, rendering her speechless. She felt him run his tongue along the seam of her lips, and she opened her mouth to let him in. His mouth tasted of stale ale and a bit of smoke and mint. It was sublime. And again she felt herself becoming lost, suddenly not caring about her inexperience. After some time, he broke the kiss and looked at her with kind eyes.

 

“Yer the ‘Maid of Tarth’...I kinda figured you hadn’t done this before, but yer a very quick learner, and I don’t mind teaching you a few more things if you be willin’?

 

“I’m willing.” Brienne gasped.

 

He slowly removed her furs and her leathers before untying her tunic. His fingers were surprisingly nimble for how large they were, and before Brienne knew it he had slipped her tunic over her head. Now she was just in her chemise and her pants. Brienne felt a bit exposed, but he looked upon her as if she were a God made flesh. His hands gently cupped her small breasts and he picked up where he had left off on her neck earlier, before moving to kiss her bare shoulders. His thumbs caressed her nipples, making them hard under his touch, and Brienne couldn’t stifle the moan that escaped her lips.

 

Tormund made love to her, gently, patiently, but fiercely. He told her he wanted to make the most of the moment, because he may never get this chance again with the night to come. He seemed to delight in every whimper and moan that escaped her lips, and when she cried in ecstasy, Brienne thought she saw a tear go down his cheek. When he came, he cried her name loud enough for anyone to hear: “Brienne!” As he snuggled next to her afterward Brienne confessed, “I liked hearing you say my name. No more of this m’lady business, will you?”

 

“Aye, Brienne.” He sighed with a satisfied smile.

 

“I want you to fight alongside me … when they come.” Brienne said in a serious tone. “I don’t want to die alone.”

 

Tormund pulled her closer and kissed her bare shoulder that peaked out from under the bed coverings. “T’would be my honor, Brienne.” 

 

Neither of them knew what lie in store, or just how close the White Walkers were, but the fact that the course of their relationship had changed within just a matter of hours gave them both hope that unexpected miracles can and do happen.

  
  



End file.
